Duncan Sherrard, Kyle Patnode Are Newest Adds to New South Carolina Swim Staff

Duncan Sherrard and Kyle Patnode are the latest additions to the staff of new South Carolina head swimming & diving coach Jeff Poppell, the school announced on Wednesday. The pair join Robert Pinter, who was announced last week as part of the Gamecocks’ revamped staff.

Presuming the program retains head diving coach Todd Sherritt, that leaves the Gamecocks with one available on-deck coaching slot to fill, and no female assistant yet on staff.

Sherrard comes to South Carolina from Auburn University, where he was an assistant coach who worked primarily with the sprinters. Auburn is another program that hired a new head coach already this spring. Among his other accomplishments in his stint as a coach there, he led three relays at SEC titles in SEC Championship Meet Records. In addition to helping 12 Auburn student-athletes qualify for the NCAA Championships, he guided his swimmers to 43 All-America honors and nine program records.

Prior to Auburn, Sherrard was an assistant at North Carolina from 2015-2018, again working with the men’s and women’s sprinters. There he developed 2 First Team All-Americans and 30 Honorable Mention All-Americans. Among his crowning achievements were the results of Caroline Baldwin, who became the program’s first NCAA finalist in the women’s 50 free in 19 years.

Before that, he was the head coach at NCAA Division II Florida Southern College from 2009-2015, where the team won 3 consecutive men’s Sunshine State Conference Championships and the team were national runners-up in 2013 and 2014.

“Duncan has clearly established himself as one of the top sprint coaches in the country evidenced by his outstanding accomplishments at both UNC and Auburn,” said Poppell. “Over the years, I have had the opportunity to witness first-hand the positive impact he has made on the teams he has been a part of as well as with the athletes he has coached. I am truly excited to see what he will bring to our program at South Carolina as we seek to climb the SEC ladder and establish a strong presence nationally.”

Sherrard also served on the U.S. staff at the 2017 World University Games.

As an athlete, Sherrard was a 14-time All-American and 3-time SEC Champion at the University of Florida, which is the same program where Poppell was previously the women’s head coach.

Patnode, meanwhile, spent last season as a volunteer assistant at Ohio State University, where the Buckeye women won their 2nd-straight Big Ten title and recorded the highest point total in conference history. The Ohio State men placed 7th at last year’s NCAA Championship meet.

Prior to that, he spent 2 seasons as a graduate assistant at Oakland University, 6 months as a volunteer strength & conditioning coach with Ohio State, and two-and-a-half years as an assistant coach with the Iowa City Flyers Swim Club.

Patnode graduated from Iowa in 2017 with a degree in Kinesiology and Exercise Science. In addition to his time as a member of the varsity swim team, including as a captain when he was a senior, Patnode. was a volunteer assistant with the strength and conditioning staff. There he implemented programs for 6 varsity teams, including swimming. At Ohio Sate, he worked with 27 varsity teams in the same area.

“Kyle brings an energy and passion to our program at South Carolina that I think the athletes will enjoy,” said Poppell. “His recent experience at Ohio State with the Big Ten champion women’s team and Big Ten runner-up men’s team, will be invaluable as we seek to change the culture of our program into one centered on doing the necessary things to be great. In addition, Kyle’s strength and conditioning background will prove to be a valuable asset that I feel we can capitalize on to help our athletes take the next step in their individual development.”

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DrSwimPhil
3 years ago

Congrats Duncan!

Ghost
3 years ago

So who coached sprinters at Auburn? Gideon or Duncan? I thought Gideon did?

NM Coach
Reply to  Ghost
3 years ago

Great Question! Gideon did an INCREDIBLE job with Bowen Becker at Minnesota.

NM Coach
Reply to  NM Coach
3 years ago

Down votes for a coach that got BB to go 18.6/40.8????

Tough crowd!

B1Guy!
Reply to  NM Coach
3 years ago

Did the 40.8 swimming under Kelly I believe. Was 42 with Gideon, but regardless 18.6 with Gideon is great.

Escalade
Reply to  Ghost
3 years ago

They both did

Brandi
3 years ago

A mixed men and women’s program with all male coaches. Hmmmm, seems off.

A Guy
Reply to  Brandi
3 years ago

Jeff did have an all male staff for a women’s only program.

Doctor doctor Dave Ramos
Reply to  Brandi
3 years ago

Very off indeed. We need to be forward thinking in the sport. It shouldn’t be a meritocracy, we need to start hiring based on gender and race. Get the sport ahead of the current times!

Too Many
3 years ago

Way too many great female coaches out there – let’s get on it and get one announced for recruiting too.

Female should have been first hired to show forward thinking- not hiring last and make it look like they were hired because they had to have a female on staff.

Coachy
Reply to  Too Many
3 years ago

How many female coaches applied? Do you know?

samulih
Reply to  Coachy
3 years ago

i do not think you really apply for these jobs even if there is posting on a site, connections matter more.

carolina blue
3 years ago

Caroline Baldwin was actually the UNC sprint freestyler that he coached to NCAA All-American performances in the 50 Free and a Gold Medal in the 50 Free at the 2017 WUGS.

Aquajosh
3 years ago

If South Carolina got Sherrard, I wonder who Florida is getting as assistant coaches.

War Damn
Reply to  Aquajosh
3 years ago

Mike Joyce

Last edited 3 years ago by War Damn
Swimnut465
Reply to  War Damn
3 years ago

Mike Joyce would be a great fit. Fantastic coach and passionate about the sport.

Meeeyammmmi
Reply to  Swimnut465
3 years ago

Hopefully they hired HBC from Oxford. She’d be a great fit again. Always wonder why she left in the first place….

Mike
Reply to  Meeeyammmmi
3 years ago

You’re suggesting Hollie, after 14 years as a head coach, would want to return to UF as an assistant (not associate head…assistant) coach? I don’t see the appeal for her to do that.

Mark Torres
3 years ago

Excited to see what this coaching staff can accomplish at South Carolina!

CACrushers
Reply to  Mark Torres
3 years ago

Why the downvotes?

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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